


Closer to fine

by LittleWolf95



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angel Waverly Earp, F/F, F/M, Families of Choice, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Protective Wynonna Earp, Slow Burn, Supernatural stuff still happens, Supportive Earp Siblings (Wynonna Earp), Waverly actually gets to know her real father, Willa is not a complete bitch, Wynonna Earp & Nicole Haught Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-07-08 05:05:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 18,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15923447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleWolf95/pseuds/LittleWolf95
Summary: Nicole Haught moves to Purgatory to escape her home life and disturbing past, not expecting to meet anyone who generally accepts her in the small town. However after becoming friends with Wynonna Earp, the town's Notorious 'rebel' she finds her life turning even more complicated.But what is the town hiding?





	1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am just bored enough to write fanfiction**

To say that Nicole Haught was confused would have been an understatement, especially as she walked into the apartment that she had just basically been _**given**_ by a man she didn't know even though he had sworn he knew her uncle and aunt and she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth at the moment, especially when she wanted to be as far away from her parents as possible.

 _Well being in a small, backwater town may be better than being forced to got o some kind of torture camp._ The redhead thought bitterly, her mind flashing to the last time that she had been in Purgatory.

_I hope this place doesn't still get overran by gang violence..._

She thought, closing her eyes as she felt her stomach twist into knots. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she turned her attention back to the present, which was the stack of boxes that she had hauled inside from her truck.

"You know what? _This_ can wait....I'll let CJ out of her carrier and I'm going to go look around the town." she said to no one in particular as she opened the cat carrier, only to get hissed at by the yellowish fur ball that was curled up inside.

"Yeah yeah, I know you hate being cooped up." Nicole stated, rolling her eyes at the temper mental cat before setting out a litter box and the cat's food bowl and quickly filled it with water.

"I'll feed you when I get back. You're getting too fat anyway."  
  
  
  


Wynonna rolled her eyes as she sat on the bar of Shorty's, watching as her sister Waverly and her boyfriend Champ argued about _something_ pointless. _Why the fuck is she dating that bastard when he makes her cry at least eighty percent of the time? Like is there_ ** _anyone_** _in this forsaken town that won't use my baby sister as arm candy or a sex toy?_

She thought, resisting the urge to throw Champ out through the doors when someone punched the nineteen-year-old in the face, knocking him across the room.

"Bobo! What the hell?" Wynonna heard Gus yelled, though the twenty-year-old just snickered. _Now I owe that jerk ass bastard for taking up for Waverly._ She thought as she slid off the counter and headed toward the door.

_At least I know that someone_ **_won't_ ** _hurt her while I'm gone. Bobo del Rey will just end up fucking killing someone if they try. Although_ **_why_ ** _he cares so damn much, I have no idea._

_"_ Hey, Gus I'm stepping out. Make sure no one jumps on Waves, alright?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Wynonna sighed as she walked along the main highway through town, hands stuck into her pockets as she tried _not_ to get lost in thought, especially since there were only four people who she could even talk to about the whole mess that was her mind. But she could handle it.

Or at least that is what she liked to think.

"Hey, Earp! Who you looking for?"

She glared at the man that was leaned up against the back of his truck.

"Don't make me shove peacemaker up your ass, asshole. As long as no one tries to attack any humans I couldn't give a rats ass what you and your band of losers do." She snapped, brushing past them.

 _You'd think they wouldn't want to piss off the person who literally can send them back to the burning pits of hell._ She thought, hand moving to the handle of the revolver at her side, the weapon letting out a small pulse as if to agree with her.

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice someone coming out of one of the buildings until she had crashed right into them.

"Oh, fucking damn it. Sorry." she grumbled as she reached out to catch one of the redhead's bags before it could spill all over the ground.

"Sorry, that was probably my fault. I just moved in and...."

Wynonna smirked a bit at the younger girl's stammered apology.

"And moving makes you scatterbrained, yeah I've been there. I'm Wynonna Earp by the way."

"Nicole Haught."

Wynonna let out a snort at the strange last name.

"A little full of yourself, aren't we?" she retorted, smirking at the confusion that flashed across Nicole's face before the redhead rolled her eyes.

"Haha, funny." the teen said, reaching for the bag that Wynonna had although the brunette just pulled it back.

"You look like you already have your load, Haught Potato, just show me where you're parked."

It didn't take Wynonna and Nicole long to out the bags in the back of Nicole's truck.

"Hey, so some of us are having a party tonight out on my land. It's just a small thing but you're welcomed to come if you want, My sister would probably strangle me for not inviting the new girl in town. You know, being hospitable and all of that."

Nicole couldn't believe that this woman that she had just met was inviting her anywhere, however, she couldn't help but wonder if this was a sign of the fresh start that she wanted.

"Okay, can I have the address? I don't want to end up lost and looking like an idiot."

Wynonna just smirked and shrugged, handing her a flip phone.

"Put in your number and I'll text you the address and time."  
  


 

 

Waverly groaned as she fell backward onto the bed in her best friend's house, closing her eyes as she tried to get the argument with Champ out of her head.

"Why don't you just dump his dumb ass?" Chrissy asked, earning a huff from the smaller girl.

"This is a small town or did you forget? My only _real_ options are either him or the class pervert." Waverly reminded her, earning a chuckle.

"You're the head cheerleader _and_ the smartest girl in our grade. You could have **_anyone_** you wanted! Champ is just an jackass for making you cry! You're lucky that that gangster has a soft spot for you and put Chump in his place!" Chrissy reminded her, watching as the brunette pulled a face before rolling over to face her.

"Sometimes I wish that some kind of prince charming would just ride in on his white horse and take me far away from here, even if it's just for one day!"

Chrissy laughed a bit and threw a pillow at her.

"This is Purgatory, the closest thing you'll get to a Prince Charming on a White horse is a Charismatic Cowboy."


	3. Chapter 3

"what the hell should I wear?"

Nicole asked as she rummaged through boxes, feeling stupid for talking to her cat but who else was she to talk to? In moments like this was when she missed living with people, but at the same time, this was a lot better than the set up than what she would have if she had stayed in the city.

"What do you think Calamity Jane? Should I go dressy or casual?"

Ironically the cat mewed in response, causing the redhead to roll her eyes.

"Too bad I can't speak cat...but I am sure you probably just said something sarcastic or something anyway." she stated before just grabbing a random blue shirt out of the box and heading toward the bathroom.

_I really hope that this works out...I mean what if no one likes me? What if they see me as too much as an outsider? What if this is a setup?_   
  
  


 

Wynonna groaned as soon as she saw Waverly's bloodshot eyes and reddened cheeks.   
"What happened? Who am I going to have to kill?" she asked, ignoring the cooler that she was filling and heading over to the younger girl who just sighed and took a seat on the couch.

"No one, Wynonna. It's not important."

Wynonna sighed as she heard this and sank down beside of her.

"Don't give me that shit baby girl, What happened after I left Shorty's? Did Bobo try to hurt you? Or was it that bastard you call a boyfriend?" she retorted, putting an arm around Waverly, who practically melted into the embrace.

"It wasn't Bobo, but I don't want to talk about it right now."

Wynonna sighed at that but nodded "I'm sorry I left you there to deal with that shitstorm, I promise, next time I _**will**_ be there to protect you from _**whatever**_ comes your way."

"Wasn't your fault. I know you and Bobo can't coexist in the same space without fists flying." Eagerly managed to choke out, earning a scoff.

"Seems like I owe that bastard a favor now."

Eagerly could hear the bitterness in her tone at that although today reminded her of something that she remembered from her childhood, of her first memories of the strange man.

"You know he was the only person besides you that ever seemed to care about me? Remember when Daddy would come home drunk from Shorty's but I always seemed to get home after he passed out?" Waverly asked, earning a confused look.

"You always told me that you were at a friend's house." Wynonna pointed out, earning a sigh.

"Bobo knew how Daddy was when he got drunk....he would keep me anywhere but the homestead until he was sure it was safe. He said he heard some of the things Daddy had said to me one day and it made him sick."

_As if a demon is capable of emotions like that. Then again, he always seems to be willing to protect her, even when it's his creeps hitting on her._

"He never hurt you did he?" Wynonna couldn't help bit ask, earning a look.

"No. Do you think I wouldn't have told Gus?"

"Point taken...or you would have just kicked him in the nuts as hard as you could."

That effectively got a grin out of Waverly, much to Wynonna's relief.

"Now you might want to go get ready for that bonfire tonight, I invited this girl named Nicole who looks to be around your age. Maybe you'll be in the same classes?"

_And maybe you will get a not stuck up, not self-centered friends besides Chrissy. I mean Nicole seems anything_ **_but_ ** _preppy._

"Really? That's unusual since we haven't had anyone move here in forever. Who is going to be there, besides us and this mystery girl, Nicole?" Waverly questioned as she pulled away.

"Just Doc and Xavier. You can invite Chrissy if you want, I don't care."

Waverly snickered a bit at that and rolled her eyes "Chrissy is even more Vanilla than I am. There is no way she would come to a party where alcohol is, even if she didn't have to drink." she began, her brow furrowing for a second before she added, "Do you think that's one of the reasons that I can't even keep Champ happy?"

Wynonna inwardly flinched at that and made a mental note to beat the boy into a pulp later.

Champ's just an fuck boy. Don't worry about anything that son of a bitch says." she answered before adding in a lighter tone "and Waves, you don't get to call her vanilla since you won't even fucking say ass."

"Shut up, at least I don't end up on a YouTube video because I am drunk out of my mind and decide to give a striptease!" Waverly retorted, only to end up getting smacked in the face with the a pillow that she had bought to 'decorate' the couch.

"That was one time you little asshole." Wynonna chuckled, the tense aura that had been looming over Waverly seemed to lift as she shoved Wynonna off the couch, laughing at the shocked look.

"Oh, you are so going to regret that, little sister."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Nicole wasn't sure what she really expected as she pulled up to what she could only call a ranch house at the edge of town. She could see the trails of smoke coming from off in the distance. _Okay, so it wasn't entirely a setup. Then again, why did I let her talk me into this so easily? This could still blow up in my face._

She didn't know how long she had zoned out for but the sudden sound of something rapping at the window caused her to nearly jump out of her skin.

"Fucking hell!"

She relaxed once she saw the smug look on Wynonna's face.

"So you did come, Haught Tamale."

Nicole had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the pun, although for some reason it calmed her nerves somewhat.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" she retorted, watching as Wynonna's smug look turned into a genuine grin.

"Yeah, the jerk who invited you to her house. Now are you going to get out or are you going to just sit there all night?"  
  
  
  
  


Nicole never thought it would be so relaxed around the wild card that was Wynonna Earp, the twenty-something-year-old that everyone seemed to see as some kind of outcast. She was a hot mess, that was for sure...especially as she got drunker into the night.

But what really caught Nicole off guard was Wynonna's younger sister, Waverly.

Nicole found herself wanting to get to know the other girl despite knowing that it was a bad idea. Especially since small towns like this had a reputation for being homophobic and she didn't want to risk losing the people who seemed to want to be her friends.

"So, Nicole. What pray tell brought you out in this neck of the woods?"

Nicole wasn't sure if she had heard his name right but she was sure that he had introduced himself as Doc Holiday.

"My parents and I don't exactly get along, long story short. I was given the option of going to stay with my ultra-strict grandparents or moving out. Needless to say, I left and didn't look back." Nicole answered, trying to summarize what had happened the best that she could without giving anything away.

"Sounds like we weren't the only ones with shitty parents." Wynonna muttered before downing the contents of her bottle.

"Wynonna, you shouldn't say that." Waverly stated, earning a look from the drunk brunette.

"And why the hell not? Mama left and Daddy treated you like shit."

Nicole shifted uncomfortably as a thick silence suddenly came over them.

"I'm going to go get more firewood," Waverly said after a while, her voice breaking slightly with emotion.

"Was that necessary?"

Nicole turned her attention to Xiever Dolls at that, noticing the concerned look on the man's face.

"Its the truth. It hurts like hell but its the truth, Willa left town after the accident and I basically got stuck raising Waverly myself while our aunt and uncle worked. Our mother should have been here for Waverly, hell if anything she shouldn't have left a four-year-old with a drunk who couldn't remember his own daughters birthday! Waverly deserved more than the card she was handed."  
  
  
  


Later that night Nicole headed toward the house in the need of a bathroom only to find Waverly sitting on the couch, eyes trained onto nothing.

"You okay?" Nicole asked, smirking as she saw the short girl jump at the sudden voice.

"Uh....yeah...Jeez, I didn't hear you come in!" she stated, wiping at her eyes as her face flushed slightly.

"Sorry, I needed the bathroom." Nicole said before glancing around the room "are you sure you're okay? That was kinda...harsh what Wynonna said." 

Waverly sighed at that and shrugged "She gets mean when she drinks with a lot of stuff on her mind. I know she doesn't _mean_ to be a jerk. But she wasn't wrong, but I don't need to be reminded about all of that."

"Hey, at least you had Wynonna, I was shuffled from house to house growing up because your backwater, hippie parents wanted to travel all over God's creation." Nicole reminded her, earning a slight smile.

"Oh my god, you must think I am so selfish. I mean Wynonna didn't have it easy either and you most definitely..." Waverly began but before she could sink into too much word vomit Nicole spoke again, taking her hand.

"Hey, I'm sure Wynonna's already made peace with it and I know that I am so over the shit with my parents and from what Wynonna said out there, you definitely didn't have it easy either. So you're not being selfish just because you admit that it hurts."


	5. Chapter 5

Waverly wasn't sure what she expected when she woke up to pancakes the following morning or rather the following afternoon. It wasn't often that Wynonna fixed anything for breakfast, mostly because of the twenty-one-year-old couldn't cook anything that wasn't prepackaged.

_What is going on did someone die?_ Waverly wondered as she walked into the kitchen, kinda ignoring Wynonna, although she wasn't exactly mad at her...not really.

After Waverly had taken a seat at the table the older girl spoke, her voice oddly gentle and lacking its usual touch of sarcasm.

"Hey baby girl, about what I said last night..."

Wynonna was not good at this sort of thing, however, she still felt like a giant asshole for what her drunken-self had said the previous night. Especially since Waverly had rejoined them alongside Nicole sometime later, having obviously been crying.

"It's okay. Sometimes the truth hurts."

Wynonna knew that tone, the tone that Waverly used when she just wanted to forget something happened and that she maybe was still a bit mad about the whole thing.

"No, I shouldn't have been drinking so much after Bobo del asshole got me worked up earlier yesterday. I know I can be a bit...much while drunk and I'm sorry that I kinda took it out on you. Do you think you can forgive me?"

Waverly was almost as shocked by the apology as she had been by Wynonna's harshness the previous night. After all, her sister didn't just out and apologize over just anything, usually, she _showed_ that she was sorry not outright say it.

"What did Bobo do now? Sometimes I swear there is more going on in this town than I realize." Waverly stated, not answering Wynonna just yet.

"It's not **_what_** he did but **_who_** he is doing. You know what, I don't want to imagine that." Wynonna retorted, closing her eyes as if she was trying to will away a mental image of whomever she was talking about.

"Okay...Now I'm curious about why you care about Bobo's sex life. But anyway, about last night...It's okay, seriously. I mean it hurt to have to hear all of that but it's not like I didn't already know that Daddy and Willa didn't like me, you know?" Waverly answered, slightly choking up toward the end.

She found herself suddenly being pulled out of her chair and into an embrace of bourbon and cigarette, strong arms wrapping tightly around her.

"Daddy was an idiot and Willa had a giant stick up her ass. You never deserved their bullshit baby girl, remember that."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Nicole groaned as she woke up, with a throbbing head. Glancing around the too bright room, she wonders just how the hell she had ended up back in her own house, let alone in her own bed when the last thing she remembered was Waverly Earp falling asleep on her.

Despite her stomach and head protesting her every move, Nicole sat up, finding a note along with some aspirin sitting on her bedside table.

**Nicole,**

**You had me drive you home last night. Hopefully, Wynonna didn't ruin the night for you. Also, your cat decided to ambush me...I still put some food out for her, hopefully, she ate it besides starving herself.**

**Your keys are in the ashtray by the door.**

**-Dolls.**

Nicole groaned as her eyes adjusted from the blurry mess into something just clear enough to make out the words on the paper, although it was hard to place a name with a face when most of last night that she could remember involved a drink off with Wynonna and having Waverly Earp falling asleep on her.

"Well, this town is definitely interesting." she thought aloud as she struggled to open the bottle of water that was sitting on the table with the bottle of pills.

_I think_ _Nedley_ _was right when he said I would fit in here._ _Although it is weird to be back here after all these years._ She thought, closing her eyes to try to sleep off the massive hangover that she had.  
  
  


Wynonna didn't know how she was going to tell Waverly what was going on with her the previous day that has lead toward her making an ass out of herself. She knew that Waverly should know what was going on, especially since it would affect her somewhat as well. However, how could you tell one of the people you love the most that something they thought was fact _wasn't?_

Wynonna wanted nothing more but to shoot Bobo between the eyes for making her have to go through this _but_ it wasn't entirely Bobo's fault. No, he had found a bargaining chip and had planned to use it until he fell in love with the said chip...

Plus he did tend to keep an eye on Waverly whenever Wynonna wasn't around. He may be a shithead _but_ she had to give him credit for protecting her little sister.

"Wynonna, Gus called and asked if you and Doc would come by and see if you could fix her old truck? Evidently, it wouldn't start again this morning." Waverly called, causing Wynonna's blood to run cold.

Gus only ever called when _something serious_ happened using the same excuse each time.

"Shit looks like she'd replace that thing." Wynonna groaned as she got up

"Stay here okay Waves? When I get back I'll order takeout and we'll watch that sappy, girly movie you like."

Waverly rolled her eyes but she just shrugged.

"Fine, but I'm not a kid anymore Wynonna and you have to tell me why you care so much about who Bobo sleeps with, like seriously did you go out with him or is he suddenly gay and sleeping with one of your flings?" Waverly retorted before a mischievous streak hit her "oh my gosh, are you gay? Did he steal your girlfriend?"

Wynonna glared at her.

"Haha, very funny Waves and No, he did not steal my girlfriend. Who the hell would I date in this town? They either hate me or are so stuck up that if they're outside when it rains they would drown."


	6. Chapter 6

Nicole didn't remember if she had ever seen anyone as beautiful as Waverly Earp, especially when the shorter, spunky, girl was standing in front of her in a blue devils' cheerleading uniform.

_Holy shit, she's very pretty and I'm very gay._

Nicole thought as soon as she caught sight of the brunette who was practicing some kind of flip that Nicole had no name for.

_Okay, reign in the hormones Nicole. She is obviously very straight and that is the last bit of drama you need here...falling in love with the straight, head cheerleader who's sister carries a gun at all times._

She mentally scolded herself as she debated rather or not to just go back to study hall besides signing up for the track team like she had been planning on doing.

_Focus Haught, You_ **_can_ ** _do this. Stop being too gay to function and just go in there and talk to the damned coach._

Sighing she headed toward the small office, only to freeze in her tracks when she heard her name being called.

_Well shit._

_"_ Oh, hey Waverly. I didn't know you were a cheerleader?"

_Okay Nicole, use your words without sounding like a lame ass._

Nicole mentally groaned, hating the way that the shorter girl's smile made her heart do a flip in her chest. She was falling and falling hard and fast and she had a feeling that she would probably just end up getting hurt. 

"You can't just waltz back into town after everyone thought you fucking died, Willa! We literally buried sandbags in your fucking grave because there was no body! Everyone thought coyotes or something had drug you off, not fucking Bobo del Rey!"

Wynonna was beyond pissed at this point, taking turns glaring from Gus to the older brunette who was standing in the doorway looking bored, leaning against a man who was wearing a fur coat.

"Hey, Leave Bobo out of this. I literally saved her because of the pact I made with your daddy."

This whole thing was hurting Wynonna's head.

"Oh so our dad, the fucking _**heir**_ to keep this town from turning into some kind of living hell was evil? Yeah, well I don't exactly believe that since its coming from a zombie and a demon who dresses like a Macklemore fanboy."

She snapped, earning a sigh.

"Do you even know _what_ he was afraid was coming and _why_ he made a pact with Bobo in the first place? Revenants aren't the only thing in purgatory Wynonna and the most dangerous thing out there will destroy _**everything**_ if he is awakened!"

The older woman stated, sighing before adding "I can't be the heir since I tied myself to Bobo but I can make damn well sure that you can defeat anything that comes your way."

Willa retorted, eyes going to the gun on Wynonna's hip.

"Remember, Daddy did train _me_ from the time I was old enough to walk how to be the heir. While you were playing Mama to the _baby_ I was learning some useful shit." 

It wasn't lost to anyone in the room how Willa sneered the word baby.

"For one her name is Waverly, for two she is our sister and for three don't think you can come back into town and make her miserable." Wynonna snapped, earning a sigh

"She is our _half-siste_ r, Wynonna. Write to Mama, I _know_ you know where she is...you and Waverly was always her favorites."


	7. Chapter 7

"So are you coming to my recital tomorrow?"

Wynonna groaned as she drained the rest of the contents of the bottle in front of her. She was not mentally prepared for the cheerfulness of her younger sister at this point.

"Maybe, I might need to go down to the trailer park before though."

She answered, trying not to notice how Waverly seemed to deflate.

"Hey, I _**will**_ be there. I just need to talk to a certain mink coat wearing dumb ass about something, You know I keep my promises." Wynonna said, forcing a smile as she turned toward her sister "I know this thing is a big deal to you, I will be there."

She knew she probably should bring up the fact that half of what they had all believed had been a lie, that Willa hadn't died at all during that car crash but instead had been saved by a mink furred sociopath because of some deal that their daddy had made with him.

But now was not the time, no. She wouldn't make Waverly start worrying about everything that _everyone else_ in town was trying to keep from her. Hell, even _Bobo_ had refrained from telling Waverly anything.

"Are you sure? I mean if this is black badge stuff then you should probably worry about that." Waverly replied although Wynonna rolled her eyes.

"This has nothing to do with the BBD, this has **_everything_** to do with Bobo's _wife,_ Our Mama, Daddy, and a whole hell of a lot more complicated bullshit that I don't want you wasting your brain cells on. Leave family history bullshit for me to figure out...and next time Gus or Shorty calls about that truck...Tell them to fucking buy a new one."

Waverly was confused. There was a lot more going on than Wynonna was telling her.

"Bobo has a wife? Who in their right mind would want to...I mean he has always been nice to me but he's still kind of a dick." she couldn't help but ask, noticing how Wynonna's face seemed to contort before she took another drink of whatever was even in that bottle.

"Someone _else_ who can be just as big of a jackass." 

Waverly awoke to the sound of voices later that night, causing her to mutter a curse since she needed to be well rested for everything the next day.

"Look, I'm saying if she is going to have to deal with having the Earp name, she's going to eventually find out about the curse and to be frank, if she is half as intelligent as Bobo, Gus, and Shorty claims she'll eventually figure it out on her own and when she does how do you think she's going to feel about you _lying_ to her?"

The voice was vaguely familiar, although Waverly couldn't place it, which sparked her curiosity.

"I'm not lying to her! Just because I don't explain why I come home looking like I ran through a slaughterhouse on a monthly basis doesn't count as lying!"

This time it was Wynonna's voice that spoke, sounding angrier with each syllable.

Trying not to make any noise at all Waverly headed toward the stairs, only for her breath to catch at who she saw standing in front of the front door, glaring at Wynonna.

"Willa?"

The older woman glanced at her, a smirk coming over her face.

"Looks like you _have_ to explain it all to her now, Nonna."   
  
  



	8. Chapter 8

"Waverly we were just trying to protect you after everything happened with Daddy and Willa..." Wynonna began, only to be ignored by the teen who brushed past her.

"I don't want to hear it Wynonna! You always made excuses for Daddy and Willa whenever they were talking 'business', yet as soon as I was out of the way you would go right back out to the barn to talk with them! Don't you think I deserved to know? Especially since it almost got everyone killed! Is the BBD even a real thing?"

Waverly exclaimed as she walked toward the stairs, her voice breaking on some words as she struggled with what she was feeling.

"Waverly, I just wanted to keep you safe..." Wynonna began, not expecting her younger sister to whirl around, glaring at her.

"Why don't you just tell me the friggin truth for one? You wanted to be rid of me just like the rest of the family!"

Her eyes spilled over then as she advertised her gaze toward the floor as she added   
"That's why you left without saying goodbye..."

Wynonna's heart broke as realization dawned on her.

"Waves, I'm going to be fucking straight with you. I left because I didn't want the responsibilities associated with this family. I didn't say goodbye because I _knew_ if you asked me to stay, I **_would_** have."

Wynonna began, slowly approaching the teen and gingerly taking Waverly's hands into hers.

"I kept you away from those conversations because Daddy could be brutal. I didn't want you to get hurt. Don't you **_ever_** think for a second that I don't love you, because I do. **_You_** are the most important thing in this world to me and the only reason I am willing to go through with all this heir nonsense. If it wasn't for _**you**_ I wouldn't have _ever_ come back to this forsaken town.

"You _will_ be at my competition tomorrow right?"

Waverly questioned, not trusting herself enough to really open up to Wynonna. Afraid if she said too much that she would push her away.

"Of course, just as soon as I kick Willa's ass."

Waverly wasn't sure which part of that she believed, after all...Wynonna had forgotten promises she had made in the past, plus Willa had always been closer to Wynonna than Waverly was.

"You better be or I will kick your butt."

Wynonna rolled her eyes at that.

"You can say ass you know."  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors note:  
> Sorry, this is so short. Dealing with three different medical issues currently and it is killing my focus. Next chapter will include Nicole.
> 
> Nicole will play a large role in this story, even if the romance is slow burn.


	9. Chapter 9

Nicole knew something was wrong when she saw Waverly the next day during classes. Dark rings were under the smaller girl's eyes as if she hadn't slept at all the previous night, not to mention how her eyes were also bloodshot and swollen, as though she had cried long and hard about something.

_What on earth could have made her so upset?_

Nicole wondered, trying to figure out if there was some way she could get her to open up about whatever had hurt her so much. But Nicole didn't feel like it was her place to nosey around in her business, especially since she had just met her.

However when Waverly had chosen to sit beside her at lunch, despite having her own group of friends.

"Do you mind if I sit here? I mean, you have more in common with my sister but..."

Her voice was hollow, Nicole noticed and it broke the redhead's heart.

"Hey, I'm your friend too. Or at least I hope I am."

Nicole answered, noticing the slight smile that briefly ghosted across the brunette's face.

"I would like that."

Nicole noticed a few things about Waverly as they sat there in a heavy silence, one being that the girl packed her own lunch which contained something that she had no name for.

The second thing she noticed was that Waverly had really pretty eyes.

"Not being nosey but what the hell is that stuff you're eating?"

She watched as color flushed across Waverly's face before she answered.

"It's called Pinto Posole. It is usually made with pork but you can substitute beans if you don't want meat." Waverly answered, earning a nod

"You're vegetarian?" Nicole asked, making a mental note to Google what a Posole was later.

"Vegan actually. It used to drive my aunt Gus crazy. Wynonna's better about it, although her sense of humor..."

Nicole didn't need her to finish that sentence, she had a good idea that Wynonna had quite the warped sense of humor at times.

"Hey, I already know how your sister is. As soon as I introduced myself she started cracking jokes about my last name."

They talked about random things for the next few minutes and Nicole found herself noticing little thing about the other girl, tiny details that offered a hint about what the girl was feeling.

Like how her eyes sparkled when she laughed at something stupid she recalled happening or how her brow scrunched up whenever she was thinking about something.

And Nicole thought it was adorable.

And Nicole wanted to kick herself for thinking that. after all, she didn't want to freak Waverly out and there was a good chance that she was straight, in which case Nicole would feel like a complete ass if the other girl thought she wanted to _change_ her or something.

And it wasn't like it was just something she could bring up over coffee!

"Earth to Nicole?"

She snapped out of her thoughts, nearly spilling soda on herself in the process.

"Shit! Sorry! I guess I just got lost in my own world there." the redhead stated, earning a giggle from Waverly.

"No kidding. You had me wondering if there was something about that sandwich that couldn't be seen by the naked eye."

Nicole rolled her eyes at that before letting out a chuckle.

"Sorry, I just was thinking about a lot of shit. How about I make it up to you some way?"

Again Nicole wanted to slap herself for sounding like a complete idiot.

_Great now you sound like you're asking her out. Just go find a hole to crawl into and become a hermit._

She mentally scolded herself.

"Sorry, That came out so weird. I did _not_ mean that how it sounded!"

Waverly laughed again although the look she was giving Nicole was unreadable.

"Actually I wouldn't mind hanging out sometime. I mean, if you want to?"

Nicole could see her eyes dim as those words left her lips as if there was something that was left unspoken, something that she _wanted_ to say but couldn't.

"I would like that."

 _Why does she seem afraid to just ask to hang out? What on earth am I missing here?_ Nicole wondered although she knew better than to bring it up.

Before either of them could say anything else the bell rang, earning a groan from Nicole.

"Well looks like I better get to geology...the most _boring_ class they could have signed me up for. How about we meet up after school and talk more?"

Waverly grimaced at that.

"Can't. I have a cheerleading thing...But I can meet up after?"

"If you want, I can hang around to drive you home after the competition? I mean, Wynonna will probably be there and everything but..." Nicole began to say, however, Waverly cut her off.

"Even better."   
  
  



	10. Chapter 10

She tried her best not to scan the crowds for a familiar face, knowing that if she did it would break her heart. However, as she got into formation she saw a leather-clad, red-haired figure leaning against the far wall of the gym.

_At least I have Nicole._

She thought as the music started to play.

Nicole smiled slightly as she watched the cheer squad do their thing, although she was most focused on Waverly who not only seemed to be having fun with the whole thing but seemed to glow with some kind of determination.

But determination for what?

Nicole didn't understand the point of the 'sport' but she wouldn't deny that it took a lot of work to get that flexible and agile.

Not that Nicole would ever admit that—to anyone but Waverly anyway.

Halfway through the performance movement at one corner of the room caught Nicole's attention, causing her to glance over to see Wynonna, some guy with strange looking hair and another young woman.

Waverly didn't seem to notice them, although something told Nicole that this was one thing she didn't really want to stick around for.

But she would, for Waverly's sake.

After seeing her so downtrodden earlier Nicole was going to make damn sure that she didn't give Waverly a reason to cry.

Wynonna watched in amusement as Waverly nearly tackled a familiar, tall redhead who nearly stumbled backward and against the wall under the sudden weight.

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

"I think that's the first time she ever has smiled at _**anyone**_ like that."

If Bobo wasn't right Wynonna would have threatened to hit him. But he _was_ right. Wynonna had never seen Waverly act that happy, although she probably could guess why.

"Someone who wasn't _obligated_ to show up did."

Bobo sent her a confused look before his gaze trailed back over to Waverly who was currently headed their way with the redhead in tow.

"Wynonna! You made it!"

It took all Bobo could do _**not**_ to snicker when Wynonna was pulled into a hug in front of everyone.

"Of course I did. Bobo wanted to come and Willa tagged along."

Every part of their little group noticed how Waverly seemed to freeze upon the mention of Willa, who offered a tight smile toward the teen who pulled away from Wynonna and faced her.

"You're pretty good at.... _that_."

Willa began, motioning with a hand as if she didn't have the right words for what she wanted to say.

"Thanks...and thanks for coming. I know all of you probably were busy."

The hurt in her voice startled Nicole, who cast a look at Wynonna who sighed.

Wynonna looked tired, and maybe a bit worried.

"Hey, I said I wouldn't miss it and I didn't and as usual...if it had to do with you, Mr. Fursona here wanted to come. Seriously did you two have a secret affair or something?"

Nicole bit back a laugh while Waverly leered up at her sister.

"Ew! No offense to Bobo but he's way too old for me for starters! Plus he has been like this since I was a kid." Waverly said

"And unlike you may think, Earp. I'm nowhere near demented enough to prey on children."   
  


"If you can't tell something is bothering her then you're blind."

Wynonna didn't even want to know why or how Bobo was sitting in her kitchen _but_ she assumed that it had to do with the fact Willa was there.

"Yeah well, have fun getting little miss Sunshine to open up. She's so worried about making everyone else happy that she doesn't take time for herself!" Wynonna retorted, glaring over at him although he just sighed.

"Maybe because she expects everyone to be an asshole like Ward?"

Willa rolled her eyes as the pair continued to bicker, although hearing about their late father made her remember things that she really wished she could forget.

"Daddy was a lot of things but that doesn't give you the right..."

Willa cut Wynonna off then.

"He used to beat Mom, why do you think I would drag you and Waverly out of the house?"

The room grew silent as Willa turned toward them and sighed

"Look, Daddy's not coming back and you've made a somewhat resemblance of a home here with Waverly. I think we all should move past the past and focus on what's going on now. Spirits only know when and where something is going to go wrong."

Wynonna didn't have any choice but agree.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	11. Chapter 11

Nicole had no idea who Fred White was or how he was connected to the town hall, but she found that she could listen to Waverly talk for hours on end about anything at all.   
She could tell that for whatever reason, Waverly had a passion for history and got excited just by being able to share that knowledge with someone.

And despite not understand half of what she was explaining, Nicole found herself hanging on to every word.

"Sorry, I'm just rambling on and on like some kind of idiot." Waverly cut herself off mid-sentence about some kind of shootout that had happened in the town, her face flushing slightly as she glanced at Nicole.

"I think it's amazing actually that you memorized all of that! I mean, I can barely remember what I read in class **_today_** let alone remember details about a shootout hundreds of years ago!"

Nicole could see the surprise written across Waverly's face at that.

"Really? You think so?"

Nicole only nodded an answer, a hint of a smile playing on her face.

"Of course I do. Obviously, you are good at something you enjoy which is amazing by itself but I swear you have got to be a genius or something."

Nicole count help but snicker when she saw Waverly's blush deepen.

"Come on, you can finish giving me a tour and then we can get something to eat. You must be starved and tired after putting on a show like you did today."

Waverly wasn't sure what she was feeling as she sat across from the redhead in the local diner. It wasn't often that _anyone_ besides Chrissy invited her anywhere, let alone let her completely geek out around them without making some comment about her turning off her brain or something.

But Nicole didn't seem annoyed at all. Amused maybe, bored? Probably but not annoyed. Not like most of the girls at school would have been.

"You know I _can_ pay for this myself right?" she insisted, wanting to think of anything else besides the fact that she could have possibly ruined her friendship with the older girl before it had even begun.

"Waverly, relax. I've got this, besides I was the one who drug you around town when you probably just felt like curling up somewhere and hibernating for the rest of the evening. The least I can do is buy you food!" Nicole argued, snatching the bill that was placed on the table before Waverly could look at it.

"And if you feel that strongly about it, I'll let you buy me coffee or something sometime."

Waverly wanted to argue but she knew she was fighting a losing battle so she just crossed her arms over her chest and retorted

"Fine but I will pay you back!"

It took Nicole all of her willpower not to crack a smile at how ridiculous this argument was getting and the fact that Waverly was acting pretty much like an actual five-year-old wasn't helping.

"If I find money in my truck I'm just going to return it. Tell you what, next time we hang out we'll do whatever _**you**_ want to do and I'll let you buy lunch, okay?"

Waverly didn't know which surprised her most: the fact that Nicole was so insistent on paying or the fact that she had just implied that she wouldn't mind hanging out with her again.

But could she mean it? Would she change her mind once she found out about the craziness that was the Earp family history? What if she grew bored of her like most of the other people who had 'befriended' her did?

She couldn't help but wonder as they left the restaurant.

"Hey, are you okay? You've been kind of out of it all day."

Nicole's voice cut through her thoughts, causing her to sigh.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

She couldn't-wouldn't-tell her what really had kept her up all night. After all, Nicole probably had better things to do than listen to a fuck up's problems.

"Okay, if you're sure but if you ever need to talk, vent, whatever I'm here. I know we just met a couple of days ago or whatever but I meant what I said earlier about being your friend."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	12. Chapter 12

Willa was the last person Waverly expected to see when she walked through the door at the homestead and _that_ is exactly what she got. Waverly _tried to_ feel as excited about the oldest Earp being alive as Wynonna probably did but every time she got around her she remembered the constant bullying that Willa put her through when they were younger.  
Plus it really didn't help that she couldn't think of a way to start a conversation with her.

"I see you made it back."

Willa's voice was as emotionless as Waverly remembered it.

"Yeah, I just showed Nicole around town. Where's Wynonna?"

Willa didn't even look up from the newspaper she was looking at.

"Taking a shower."

Waverly glanced down, shifting slightly as she added.

She knew she had to say something, but it had never been easy talking to Willa about anything, especially since Willa went out of her way to torture her when they were children.

"Thanks for coming today. I mean, I know you probably had a lot you wanted to do besides watch gymnastics." Waverly tried, kinda hoping that it would somehow start a conversation.

"I never took you as head cheerleader type."

Waverly wasn't quite sure if she wanted to know what that meant.

"I...well it keeps me in shape and it's closest Purg. High has to a dance team." Waverly retorted, earning a smirk.

"At least you have talent."

Whatever Waverly had been prepared for, that was not it.

_Did she just compliment me? Like...did she really just say I was good at something?_

"Thanks?"

She could have sworn that a smile flickered over Willa's face but it was gone before the teenager could be sure.

"I need to get going. I'll see you both later I guess."

Willa didn't give Waverly time to respond before she was gone, leaving the youngest Earp lost in thought.  
  


 

 

Later that night Nicole sat on her couch, scrolling through the emails on the cellphone she had bought as soon as she had entered purgatory.

"Bank transfer notice thing, email from Shae, shit, deleting that, send that bastard's email to the spam folder."

Nicole had been having a good day, that was until she got home and now she just really wanted to drive back to the city just to be able to give certain people a piece of her mind.

"What do you think of this shit? Do they think sending money and _concerne_ d emails are going to change my mind and go to my grandparents? They could have stood their ground and told Mayor jackass to fuck himself but no."

Nicole ranted, tossing the phone to the other end of the couch before lifting Calamity into her lap.

"It's not like they ever gave a damn before everything went to hell. Then again, probably just an exercise to get rid of me."

As if she knew what Nicole was talking about the cat stood, rubbing against her, purring.

Nicole wasn't sure how long she had sat there, just stroking and talking to the cat although it had been long enough that when her phone began to vibrate once again, she jumped in surprise.

"It's ten thirty-two, who on earth could that be?" she wondered aloud as she reached over to check the incoming texts, only to see a single sentence message:

' _Sorry to text you so late but I can't sleep, if you are asleep or whatever then just ignore this.'_

The message made her laugh, especially since she read it in the awkward, nonchalant tone that Waverly used whenever she really didn't know what to say or how to say it.

_'Don't worry, I'm not asleep. Just having a one-sided conversation with Calamity Jane.'_

Nicole typed out, adjusting the aforementioned cat on her lap as she turned her attention back toward the phone.

_'Calamity Jane?"_

Nicole wanted to kick herself, she had probably not mentioned having a pet.

' _My cat. A huge, temperamental ball of fur and attitude. Thus the name."_

She knew she probably looked like a geek at this point but she found herself not really caring, after all, it was just Waverly who for whatever the reasons she didn't feel that she had to impress.

"Maybe coming back to Purgatory won't be all bad."  



	13. Chapter 13

"I heard she lives by herself because her parents kicked her out. Probably because of drugs or something. I mean I did hear that she went to the Earp place."

Nicole rolled her eyes as she shut her locker.

_Some people really need to learn how to whisper._

She thought as she headed toward the front doors, ignoring the whispers and giggles that was directed toward her.

"Probably one of the freaks Wynonna met in the looney bin!"

"You know what my dad said? That she got kicked out of her own house because she was a faggot."

Nicole may have slammed the door behind her a bit too hard at that. Then again, she had a really strong urge to punch someone in the face....and that someone was the star quarterback.

But she could prove she was a bigger person, that she had self-control. Even if she _did_ feel the sudden need for a smoke.

"Well, that's disgusting and surprising. Took you to be the goody two shoes type Red-Haught."

Nicole glared up at the speaker, even if she already knew who it was.

"Fuck off Wynonna."

The twenty-one-year-old just chuckled at that and leaned up against the truck door.

"Waverly told me some rather interesting things today."

Nicole sighed at that, glaring at the steering wheel in front of her.

"So you decided to play bodyguard and protect your sister from the predatory freak from out of town?" Nicole snapped, not even bothering to look up at Wynonna who rolled her eyes at that.

"Do you think I care if you're a fucking Lesbian or not? Waverly went over to your place to check on you after you answered like **_none_** of her texts or calls and so I had to drag my happy ass out here to find you before she went into panic mode and called Nedley."

Wynonna started before adding:

"And for the record, this place is shit-ville. Everyone talks crap spreads rumors and acts like they understand what the fuck is going on when they don't. Trust me on this one, I know."   
  
  
  


"So you were sent off?"

Nicole asked as she sat on the tailgate of Wynonna's truck, glancing down at the half drank bottle of beer in her hands.

"Yeah, I pulled a gun on Bobo Del Asshole in middle of shorty's. Let's just say I _really_ thought he had a hand in the cause of my Dad and Willa having that accident." Wynonna said, earning a confused look.

"I forget, you're not from here originally. Basically, someone tampered with the breaks on the truck. It wrapped around a tree."

Nicole couldn't understand how Wynonna could talk about this so easily, her expression remaining blank.

"Did they ever catch who did it?"

She asked earning a scoff.

"Nicole, this whole fucking town pretends a lot of shit doesn't happen that does. The official report listed Break failure as the cause but Curtis and everyone else knew that was a load of horse shit."

Nicole wasn't sure what to say to that. Had it been anyone else she may have tried to offer some form of comfort but with Wynonna, she may end up punched if she tried.

"So what about you? What's your sob story? Everyone has one."

Nicole sighed and shrugged.

"Not much to talk about, Parents wasn't very attentive, didn't give a shit about _anything_ I did. They were fine with my sexuality, but as soon as I became an obstacle for their _peacefu_ l lifestyle they were ready to ship me off to my grandparents. So I gathered my shit, wiped out my bank account and left. Traced down one of my uncle's friends here and moved."

Nicole swore under her breath as she felt tears come into her eyes. She did not want to appear weak, especially not in front of someone who had obviously had it so much worse than her. But the anger and everything else seemed to be boiling over.

"Sorry, it must be the alcohol."

She muttered, earning a snort from Wynonna.

"Calling bullshit on that but luckily for you, **_some_** people in Purgatory don't judge. Now we'd better head back before Waverly decides to file a missing persons report." she started, jumping down from the bed, getting a small smile in response.


	14. Chapter 14

"You are really pretty."

Waverly froze when she heard this as she tried to register what was going on, although she could hear Wynonna laughing in one corner of the room.

"And you are really drunk...but thanks." Waverly managed to get out before turning toward her older sister "I told you to make sure she was okay not bring her back drunk!"

Wynonna shrugged and glanced toward the drunken redhead.

"Yeah, well she needed something to take the edge off." Wynonna retorted before adding "and before you yell at me, I'd rather deal with a cute dumb drunk than whatever you wanna call that angst fest that she was earlier."

"Aww, you think I'm cute?"

Wynonna made a face at that.

"I think you're so drunk you're not going to remember this tomorrow. Waves, help her upstairs into Willa's old room and get her a bucket and some Advil. She's gonna need it."

Waverly rolled her eyes before sighing.

"Fine after the day she's had... I guess I can't complain too much. But you're helping me keep her upright, she is like three foot taller than me!" Waverly complained.

 

 

 

 

 

Wynonna wasn't sure what amused her more, the fact that Nicole was raging drunk or the fact that Waverly was _trying_ to be mad at them although whenever Nicole started whining about something, Waverly was the one to tend to her.

"So are you still ignoring me for getting your best friend hammered?"

She asked after a while, earning a look.

"What do you think? You probably used her emotions to cozen her into drinking with you!" Waverly retorted, causing the older girl to narrow her eyes at her.

"For one, no using words I don't even know the meaning of. For two, don't blame me because haught sauce doesn't know when to quit!" Wynonna quipped, earning a huff as Waverly headed back upstairs.

"Oh look, I want a car but I literally storm off like a five-year-old!" she added, trying to hide her amusement as the younger girl turned and glared at her.

"futue te ipsi."

Wynonna arched a brow at that

"Yeah, well whatever the hell that was...I know you are but what am I?"

"What pray tell is going on? I dropped by to check up on you after the whole thing with Willa and I walk in to find you two locking horns."

Wynonna jumped at the sudden male voice coming from the doorway.

"Damnit John Henry, Don't you ever knock?"

Wynonna stated, earning a look

"And miss out on that little love fest? Are you kidding? I've been waiting to see her knock you on your ass forever." the dark haired man responded before adding "what's little miss feisty mad about now?"

Wynonna chuckled at that age shook her head.

"I may or may not let a certain ginger-haired teen get wasted. Seriously Doc, what did she expect me to do? Bash her over the head with something?"

The man chuckled.

"Well, you know how Waverly can get."  
  
  


Waverly wasn't sure if she should sit up with Nicole or not although she was currently keeping herself busy searching up lists of symptoms for alcohol poisoning, just in case.

"Waverly?"

The slurred voice caused the smaller built teen to look up.

"What Nicole?"

Waverly knew from experience that when someone was _this_ drunk to expect anything and everything. But seeing the redhead who usually oozed confidence look nearly crushed was not one of them.

"Are you mad at me?" Nicole asked, sounding so much like a little kid that Waverly couldn't help but laugh.

She tried not to, she really did.

But she couldn't help it.

"Great, now you're making fun of me."

Nicole muttered, looking almost near tears at the thought so Waverly tried to backtrack.

"No, I'm not. It's just..how you said that. I'm sorry, it's just..."

Waverly struggled to find the words to explain the action to the drunken girl in front of her.

"It's okay...I think I'm too drunk to function."

Waverly bit her lip to keep from laughing once again, especially since the line came out more like 'I tink I'm too dunk to funkin' than anything remotely English.

"Why don't you go to sleep? I'm pretty sure that would help." Waverly suggested, making a mental note to find a hangover cure online that night because Nicole would definitely need one.

"I like you so much."

Waverly wasn't sure what to think about that, well besides that it was basically just drunken mumbling. How could she respond to that? In what way did Nicole mean?  
Was it possible that a crush could develop _that_ quickly?

Before Waverly could respond however she noticed that Nicole had fallen asleep.

 _Thank God, I don't need any more drunken awkwardness right now._   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	15. Chapter 15

Nicole awoke sometime that night with a pounding head and upset stomach, not to mention the taste she had in her mouth. She managed to sit up, despite how her whole body's protested.

"How are you feeling?"

Nicole couldn't make out who it was whispering in the dark although she was grateful that they were whispering.

"Like I ran headlong into a wall. How long have I been out of it?"

Nicole groaned as a dim light appeared seemingly out of nowhere as Waverly flipped on her phone, using it as a light.

"There's some Advil on the table by the bed. I think it would be better if you got some more sleep since you must feel like hell."  Waverly said, earning a sigh.

"You have no idea. I didn't do anything weird, did I? I swear, drunk me has no filter."

Waverly couldn't help but chuckle at the truth behind that although she didn't know if she should bring up some of the rather _interesting_ things that the redhead had said earlier that night.

"Not really."

She answered, unable to bring herself to fully lie to the other girl, who let out a groan.

"Oh God, what did I say? Please tell me I didn't end up doing something stupid."

Before Waverly could respond a blinding light came from the hallway, causing pain to threaten to split through Nicole's head.

"Shit, sorry. Just came to see how you were doing Haughtshot."

Wynonna said, a bit too loud for Nicole though she managed to retort

"The next time you buy me alcohol I am going to kick your ass."

Wynonna just snorted and brought in a tray of something.

"Maybe you should grow some more first." the woman retorted before handing her a glass of something. "Anyway, drink this. It'll make you feel better."

Nicole accepted it, afraid to even know what was in it since she had seen some pretty odd hangover cures.

"That better not be pickle juice, You've done enough damage for one week." Waverly grumbled, earning a snicker from Wynonna as Nicole paused.

"I swear Gus suggested that to try to scare you out of drinking. So no, it's not...because as funny as _that_ would be to see...I don't want to clean up after it."  


 

 

That night Waverly couldn't sleep, her mind repeating Nicole's words. Every complement the drunken girl had paid her that evening. Could it be possible that Nicole had a crush on her? Waverly didn't know what she felt about that.

Not in the slightest.

One part of her was slightly alarmed by this but another, larger part of herself was almost pleasantly surprised. After all, the only few people who had shown interest in her only seemed to care about what she looked like, not _who_ she was.

Nicole _**didn'**_ _t_ seem like that.

Too bad she was straight.  


 

 

Wynonna was surprised when she was the first one awake the next morning.

 _Well, one has one hell of a hangover and I'm pretty sure Waverly was up all night both worrying about Red and playing catch up with whatever assignments she'll miss today._ She thought as she set about making coffee.

Waverly, unsurprising was the next to come down, eyes still half-lidded with sleep.

"Good morning Sunshine. Want coffee this morning or settling for your nasty tea?" Wynonna asked, earning a sigh.

"Coffee...with a lot of sugar. I have a feeling that I'm gonna need it." Waverly started, earning a snicker.

"You must have spent the whole night preoccupied. What the hell happened last night?" Wynonna asked, just as the phone rang causing her to curse.

"Can you answer that? I think I'm more awake than you are."

Waverly groaned but went to answer the phone, freezing when she heard the panicked tones of Gus coming through.

"Wynonna, You need to get to town, Stat. She won't tell me what's going on but it's something to do with Willa."

Wynonna practically dropped the spatula she was holding.

"Shit. Sorry baby girl, do you think you and haught pocket can deal with holding down the fort for a while?"

"Yeah, go save the day."  
  


 

 

 

 

Waverly had breakfast ready by the time Nicole had come downstairs.

"Morning. I am so sorry about last night, but yesterday went to shit and your sister and I..." Nicole began, earning a chuckle from Waverly who slid a plate toward her.

"Don't worry about it. I had an alcoholic father and a drunken sister for most of my life so I'm used to it. Although you said some interesting things last night." Waverly started, earning a groan from the redhead.

"Oh damn, What did I say?"

Waverly debated rather or not to tell her the full truth, although she didn't feel that it would have been fair of her keeping it secret.

"When were you going to tell me you had a crush on me?"

She asked, watching as color crawled into Nicole's face.

"Shit. Okay...this is awkward. Okay, so I do think you're really pretty and a whole lot of things but I know you're straight and I would never even think of asking you to be anything you're not so can we just forget that happened?"

Waverly couldn't help but giggle at that.

"Alright, I guess we can forget about it. After all, I'm not letting a drunken stupor come between our friendship."  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	16. Chapter 16

A week. That was how long Waverly's mind mulled over the idea of dating someone like Nicole. Someone who generally didn't get bored of her rambling, someone who seemed to actually _car_ e.

But she couldn't be starting to crush on the tall, red-haired athlete who liked to hang out with Wynonna on weekends? The girl who seemed to

Could she?

She didn't dare bring it up with Willa (who had just moved back into the homestead since Bobo was paranoid for some reason that Waverly didn't understand.) nor did she feel she could talk about this with Wynonna, not because she was afraid she wouldn't be accepted but because she didn't want to bother Wynonna with something so trivial.

"Some things happen unexpectedly and they turn out to be the best things that could happen to us." Gus had said when she had brought it up to her one evening while having dinner with her aunt and uncle.

But could she really be gay or whatever semblance of the word? Could she really be starting to crush on the girl who had quickly become her best friend?  
  
  
  


"What do you mean it's over? You only got popular because you dated me, do you think you would have won homecoming queen _or_ got elected cheer captain if you hadn't? You're nothing but a freak, the crazy Bitch's sister."

Waverly had never felt as angry as she did when she heard Champ talk about Wynonna like that. She actually threw a punch at him, only for him to grab her wrist, his grip tightening unbearably.

"I could make you pay for that _but_ you aren't even worth getting in trouble for."

Waverly felt tears well in her eyes as she absorbed those words. After all, most people only knew she as the head cheerleader, Champ's girlfriend, or the crazy chick's sister.  There was no in between. No really knowing _her._

As Champ left, Waverly fell against the lockers, nursing her injured wrist as she struggled not to just burst into tears right then and there.

 

"Waverly? What's wrong?"

As soon as she heard the familiar drawl, the tears came.

Almost instantly she found herself being drawn into a hug.

"What happened? Who do I have to kill?" Nicole repeated softly, holding the shorter girl close as she glared at anyone who dared to glance their way for too long.

"It's not important. Can you just drive me home? Please?"

Waverly managed to say, earning a nod.

"Of course."

 

 

Nicole hated seeing Waverly so upset and she wanted nothing else but to make her smile, to take all her hurt upon herself. But she couldn't, so she would do whatever it was Waverly asked her to do.

Keeping an arm firmly around her, she led her out into the parking lot, even helping her up into the truck.  Pausing only to gingerly touch the bruising wrist, swearing under her breath when she did so.

"Can you move your hand? Do you want me to take you by the hospital?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper as if she was afraid that if she spoke regularly, Waverly's condition would worsen.

"No. I just want to go home."

"Alright, just hang on. I have a first aid kit in here _somewher_ e since your dumb ass sister managed to shoot herself in the leg the other day."

That at least earned some akin to a laugh from Waverly, who remembered all too well that Wynonna had managed to get hit with a ricocheting bullet, or rather grazed by it.

"That's one thing I like about Wynonna. When she's drunk she's even one of those 'fun, egotistical drunks, a dumb drunk, or a complete softie."

Nicole could only nod at that.

"She can be a bit of an asshole though, especially when she drinks earlier in the day." she reminded her, earning a shrug.

"She usually apologizes for all of that. I mean, with all the _crazy_ she has to deal with...Anyone would get moody."

Nicole glanced over at Waverly, taking note of the defensiveness that was suddenly in her tone and the way she had set her jaw, although the intended irritated look just looked like an inconsistent pout due to the tears still in her eyes.

_Okay, yeah. I am definitely going to find out what happened then shove my boot up some prick's ass._

She thought, placing an ice pack on the smaller girl's arm.

"Hey, don't give me **_that_** look. You know I love Wynonna, I just would prefer not to be on the receiving end of one of her post morning alcohol rants."

She saw Waverly relax at that, however before either of them could do or say anything something that sounded akin to gunfire rang out through the small town. The loud noise causing both of them to nearly jump out of their skin.

"We better hurry back to the home place."

Nicole said, hoping that the nervousness wasn't there in her voice. However, the fading sounds reminded her too much of things, things that she wished that she could forget.  
But right now she needed to worry about Waverly.  
  


 

 

"What happened to you?"

Willa's voice never changed from its stony tones as her eyes scanned over Waverly's still slightly quivering form, eyes landing on the bruise for several minutes.

"Who hurt you?"

When Waverly didn't answer Willa turned toward Nicole, brow furrowing as she seemed to be searching the redhead for an answer.

"She wouldn't tell me, I found her crying in the hallway."

Willa sighed, rolling her eyes then.

"Alright, fine. If you want to act stupid about it Wynonna can deal with this shit when she gets back. Right now, I better make sure that wrist isn't damaged worse than it looks."

One part of Nicole wanted to tell Willa off for being so harsh, but she didn't. Especially since the woman seemed to try to be gentle as she examined the bruising and checked the range of motion in Waverly's hand.

"Champ."

Waverly managed to say after a few minutes

"I broke up with him."

Willa didn't even look up, although what she said next managed to shock both of the younger girls.

"And you were worried about ratting out champion Cock head _why_ exactly? You probably need a microscope to find it and he has _no_ brains between his ears either. You can do better than _that_ at least."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	17. Chapter 17

"Nicole? thank you for today, I mean I know that you probably had things to do after school and you just swooped in to get me out of there." Waverly began later that evening, listening to the sound of gunfire coming from somewhere behind the barn where her sisters had vanished with their guns and a bag of cans sometime earlier.

"Hey, stop that. I would do anything for you okay?" Nicole said as she sat down in front of her, smiling gently as she added: "I was just worried about getting you out of that situation."

Waverly couldn't believe what she was hearing from someone who basically was still an outsider, someone who she had known a little more than a week.

"You know your oldest sister is kind of a bitch," Nicole added earning a scoff from Waverly who fell backward onto the bed beside the redhead.

"Willa? Yeah, she can be. I'm just glad she didn't make even worse fun of me for everything." Waverly said as she glanced toward the window "well, besides making fun of my choice in men. I mean it's a small town, limited dating choices."

Nicole chuckled at that.

"Still, there has got to be a better option to the walking testicle."

Waverly couldn't help but laugh aloud at that.

"Do you all have to make dick jokes about my ex? I mean he's a jerk but still!"

Nicole couldn't help but pull a face at that, faking hurt as she retorted

"Oh, so you're taking that ignoramus side? Why I am offended, Waverly Earp!"

They both resolved into laughter at that.

"Oh my God Nicole! You're horrible."

It seemed like the dark mood that had been hanging over her lifted as she sat there just being completely silly with the red-haired girl who had made her start challenging herself in ways she had never thought to do so.

And it scared her.

Just thinking that she could be slowly falling in love with the girl in front of her terrified her for no end. She couldn't be gay, could she?

Then why did it feel so good whenever it was just them?

Why did it feel as if everything was alright? That she was _saf_ e?

That she could be happy?  
  


A loud shout of blasphemy echoed from outside, causing the two teens to glance at each other.

"I think Wynonna shot herself again." Nicole snickered, earning an eye roll

"Yeah, or Willa beat her in a shoot off. Want to go out there and see what those two are up to?"

Nicole shrugged.

"If you want. I wouldn't mind trying my hand at outshooting Wynonna."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	18. Chapter 18

Waverly was shaking as she rung the doorbell, hoping that she didn't look as nervous as she felt. But she had to do this, she had to or else this chance would pass her by because unlike everyone else she knew, with Nicole she had a choice.

"Waverly? What the heck? It's freezing out here!"

Nicole said as soon as she had opened the door, motioning the shorter girl inside before adding "what are you doing here? It's late and your sister would kill me if she thought it was my fault that you got sick or hurt."

Waverly followed her into the living room, struggling to keep her nerve.

"Why did you come all this way? You could have just called, you know."

Waverly wanted to tell her, but the words evaded her. So she did something she never imagined herself doing.

She kissed her.

She felt Nicole stagger backward, although she didn't pull away. At least until Nicole ended up falling back on the couch, the sudden motion causing Waverly to basically straddle Nicole's lap.

"What happened to just friends?"

Nicole panted, a grin coming over her face as she regarded the rather nervous looking girl in front of her.

"I...I've always wanted to to do things that scare me...To swim out into the middle of the ocean until I couldn't see the bottom.  But it's hard to be brazen when one thing that scares you the most is there, staring right back at you."

Nicole was at a loss for words as she regarded Waverly who had tears in her eyes.

"I scare you?"

She questioned, trying to figure out what she had done to frighten the smaller girl.

"Yes, you do. Just thinking about the way you make me feel scares the crap out of me but even though just the _thought_ of the way you make me feel, I know that the one thing in this world that I want to do the most is you."

Waverly managed to choke out, heat crawling into her face as she realized what it was that she had just said.

"Oh God, that sounded so much better in my head."

Nicole chuckled at that, moving a bit so that she wasn't at such a weird angle.

"Waverly..." she began, although the brunette didn't give her time to finish

"Please feel free to jump in at any time because I have no idea what I'm doing and I've made a fool of myself enough tonight."

An airy laugh came from Nicole once again as she leaned up, kissing her softly

"Why don't we just stop talking?"

A few minutes later and Waverly found herself sitting awkwardly on Nicole's couch while the other girl fixed tea in the kitchen.

She never understood why people compared kissing to the feel of flying but with Nicole, that was the only way she could describe it. Nicole had been so gentle, always making sure that everything was okay, never pushing for anything at all.

At one point her hand had accidentally brushed a bit too low, resulting in the redhead apologizing until Waverly had laughed, assuring her that it was okay. There wasn't any pressure or anything.

"You okay? You seem kinda out there?"

Nicole asked, earning a shy grin.

"Yeah, I'm still a bit shaky from earlier. You have no idea how worried I was about saying that." Waverly answered as she accepted the cup before adding "so what are we? Does this mean we're together or..."

"Tell me, what do you want it to mean Waverly Earp?"

Nicole really hoped that they both wanted the same thing. That Waverly wanted to be hers.

"I...I think I want to try it...to try _us._ I want to see where this leads but only if you want to because _I'm_ new to all of this...and I don't know where to even begin." Waverly answered, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"A relationship is a team effort. Just because you're new to it...doesn't mean it can't work and I promise I will be right there with you until you don't want me there anymore."


	19. Chapter 19

"I swear calculus is killing me. Remind me again _why_ that has to be a thing? I mean, seriously." Waverly complained as she leaned against the fence the next day, watching as Nicole tinkered with something under the hood of Wynonna's truck.

"You're smart, you'll figure it out. _I,_ on the other hand, couldn't tell the difference between advanced mathematics and Greek. Which is why we only have two classes together despite you being in AP."

Nicole retorted, snickering a bit as she saw the look on her girlfriend's face. She was obviously _not_ used to people complimenting her.

"So want to go do _something_ after I get done with Wynonna's shit mobile? I don't have work today and track meet was this morning." she questioned, smirking a bit as she turned toward Waverly.

"Unless you'd rather stick around here and deal with Willa barking orders?"

Waverly pulled a face at that before asking

"What did you have in mind?"

The cocky grin she got in return tempted the younger girl to shove her into the nearby mud, but she didn't.

"I was thinking about taking you out for lunch, then we could go see a movie or something? I mean, I know I have to drive into the city for that but..." Nicole was cut off by a chaste kiss.

"Are you sure that we should be doing this? You said you didn't want to tell your sisters yet." Nicole whispered, brown eyes sparkling as she added jokingly "besides, I don't want Wynonna to shoot me for defiling her baby sister."

Waverly just laughed.

"Wynonna won't shoot you and I doubt she'd even care _who_ I dated as long as they didn't. Act like a prick. I just don't want her to start being...well Wynonna. Plus I have no idea how Willa will react and things are actually _slightly_ normal between all three of us now and..."

Nicole's hand cupping her face stopped her mid-sentence.

"Hey, I told you we do this at _your_ pace. We don't have to be tell anyone about us until _you're ready."_ she reminded her in a tone that was barely above a whisper.

"Are you sure because that must be such a pain...having to keep something like _that_ a secret." Waverly said, searching Nicole for any sign of annoyance or even disinterest but only found amusement and something that she assumed was some form of love.

"Hey, I care about you and however long it takes for you to feel comfortable coming out. I'll wait." Nicole assured, taking a hand into hers and pressing a kiss along Waverly's knuckles.

"I know this whole thing is new, which can be scary and I am not about to make you do something you're not comfortable or ready to do."

Waverly found herself having the overwhelming urge to kiss Nicole so without a second thought she pulled her toward the barn.

"Waverly? What the...."

She couldn't get her question out before she found herself being cut off by a kiss.  
  
  


Wynonna groaned aloud as she moved out from under the sink.

"I swear whoever the fucking hell built this house must have been a hobbit. Willa, see if you can do something with this leak before I end up having to call Gus and listen to her try to lecture me in how to do it."

Willa rolled her eyes at the younger woman and sighed.

"Fine but I'm pretty sure you need a clamp to put on that. I think you've fried your brain on too much booze, little sis."

Willa stated, smirking as she dodged the hand towel that Wynonna tossed at her

"Yeah well, You're an asshole!"

"Thanks! I'm trying to be more like you!"  


"You know if Wynonna was to walk in on us, she'd shoot me." Nicole laughed softly as she sat there with Waverly who was leaned against her.

"She'd only maybe embarrass you to death, you're basically her best friend."

Waverly retorted, closing her eyes.

She felt so safe with Nicole, who was so strong and yet so soft at the same time.

"Best friend or not, you're her baby sister so I think _family_ comes out above friend any day and Wynonna is _very protective_ of the people she loves."

Waverly chose that moment to reach up, kissing her again before replying

"Guess what, Miss Haught. So am I."

They were in middle of another kiss when they heard the barn door opening and heard a gasp.  
  
  
  



	20. Chapter 20

"Whoa...no one thought to mention you were a...Gay."

Willa barely managed to get the sentence out before she left the barn, shutting the door a little too hard behind her.

"Okay, my sister is a lesbian."

She muttered, shaking her head despite the fact that she knew that she could have handled that better. but there were **a lot** of things she never expected to see and on the top of that list was seeing her half-sister with her tongue halfway down another girl's throat.

Or anyone's throat for that matter.

There were just some things that family just should **not** see and seeing her sixteen-year-old sister running toward home base was one of them.

Going back inside Willa stole a bottle of beer from Wynonna who was sitting at the table.

"Since when do you drink and why do you look like you saw a ghost?" the younger woman questioned, earning a look

"A ghost I could handle. Seeing our _sister_ shooting toward a home run with miss Haught Shot, not so much." Willa retorted before practically chugging down half the contents of the bottle.

Wynonna sat there, confused for a second before she burst out laughing.

Willa glared up at her at that.

"Don't tell me you're homophobic? It's the twenty-first century!" Wynonna said, earning a sigh.

"I'm not but I did ** _not_** want **_nor_** need to see Waverly with her hand on another girl's boob and her tongue halfway down the giant ginger's throat."

This only made Wynonna laugh more.

"You act like they were having sex or something."

Willa glared.

"Shut up Wynonna, I don't need the mental image of either you or her playing Donkey Kong with _anyone._ "

Waverly walked in to find Wynonna laughing and making fun of something that Willa had said. She noticed that Willa seemed grossed out and for some reason that bothered her.

After all, why care about what the person who tortured you as a child thought about you?   
It wasn't like Willa ever cared about her.

But then again, Willa had been semi-nice, or at least nice by Willa's standards and Waverly had hoped.

She had dared to hope.

"So girls huh? When were you going to share that tidbit of info with the class?"

Wynonna asked as soon as she noticed her, the amusement never leaving her face.

"I was waiting for the right time to tell you."

Waverly glanced over at Willa who had just finished the bottle of alcohol, silently praying that Willa wouldn't freak out or something. She didn't think she could handle that.

"If Miss Romeo didn't hurry home I think I would rather talk to her for a second."

Willa left toward the door.

"Great, she hates me."

Waverly muttered, sinking onto an empty chair and buried her face into her hands.

"No, she doesn't but I think she's scarred for life after walking in on you and Haughtstuff having anatomy class." 

Wynonna retorted, putting her hands on Waverly's shoulders before adding

"I will admit Willa can be a giant pain in the ass but she doesn't hate you." 

"She's never liked me Wynonna! Don't you remember how she and Daddy treated me growing up or don't you care? This last week she has been nice, sure and you have no idea how good that felt. How much it seemed like I was an actual member of this family." Waverly commented, choking up.

Wynonna regarded her for a minute before speaking again

"She was ready to kill Champ you know, for hurting you. That's why we went out shooting because we both needed to cool off. She has changed Waves, give her a tiny chance okay? Besides, you'll always have me. No matter what."

Waverly glanced up then, eyes shimmering with tears.

"I guess I can try. I mean anyone can change, can't they?"  
  
  



	21. Chapter 21

"So did you run Nicole off?"

Wynonna asked when Willa came in, earning a sigh.

"No, she got a call from work, they needed her to come in." Willa answered before sighing "Believe it or not Wynonna, I'm not going to try to ruin the kid's life. I've got eyes, I knew fire crotch had a crush on her way before today." 

"Yeah, I know. I'm blind but maybe you shouldn't be telling me this and I don't know, actually talk to Waverly about it? She has been walking on fucking eggshells since you got here and she's almost positive that you hate her."

Wynonna saw a mix of _something_ come across Willa's features briefly, although as quickly as it came, it was gone.

"I'll talk to her." 

Wynonna somehow doubted that, although she just said "She has always loved you, you know? Always wanted to have a relationship with _you_ the same way I did...and this week she said was the closest she's ever felt to having two sisters. So...don't hurt her okay?"  
  
  


Waverly was sitting in her room, flipping through a book when Willa came into the room.

"Red had to go to work...said she'd be back later to take you on that date she promised you." she started, causing the teen to nearly jump out of her skin.

"Willa! Shit, I didn't hear you come in!"

Waverly exclaimed, caught off guard when then woman chuckled softly.

"Sorry. I just came to see if you were okay. When I went out to talk to your girlfriend, you kind of looked on the verge of a panic attack."

_Wait, did she just apologize to me and did she really come in here to check on me?_

Waverly wondered as she shifted slightly.

"Look, Waverly. I know we're not close at all, but by no means do I hate you. Wynonna told me what you said earlier and I understand why you feel that way. But I'm not a kid anymore Waverly, and I **_know_** you didn't deserve any of that shit."  
  


Waverly felt her eyes begin to burn as she absorbed those words.

"Then why?"

The question came out above a whisper as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"You're not our whole sister Waverly." Willa began as she took a seat beside the teen on the bed "and after Mama got pregnant with you, Daddy became **_worse_** than normal. But I wanted both their approval and it was far easier being angry at the one person who couldn't punch me in the mouth. I blamed _you_ when I should have been angry at Mama and it just got worse after you were born."

Willa paused, closing her eyes before she glanced over at the younger girl, who sat in shock.

"I should have known that I didn't belong in this family...I..." 

Waverly began, only to feel a hand grip her upper arm tightly.

"You're still a Gibson like Mama, you're still our sister. I don't know exactly _who_ your father is but I do know that Mama was madly in love with him. But after you were born, Mama only saw you and that bitterness turned to jealousy. You got attention from both Wynonna and Mama and suddenly it felt like I was nothing but the heir of this stupid curse."

She said, hoping that her words would mean _something_ at least.

"So you were jealous?"

Waverly barely dared to say those words but earned a nod in response.

"I was just a dumb kid. The day of the wreck, I was barely conscious and I don't even want to know what the seven was going to do to me but Bobo...He rescued me. In order to protect me from the other revenants in this town, he left me in the woods with a...kind of a witch. But he always brought photos to me, of you and Wynonna."

Willa watched the smile that ghosted over Waverly's face at the idea that she had asked about her during those years.

"It was during that time I started understanding what it was I felt toward you besides anger and I _hope_ we can eventually move past that."

Waverly caught her off-guard by hugging her, which was the first time since she had been a very small child. But instead of pushing her away, she awkwardly patted her on the back.  
  
  
  


Wynonna left the house after making sure that Willa wasn't about to do anything stupid. She needed to have a conversation with a certain redhead, although she knew she didn't have to make threats.

Nicole wouldn't hurt her.

That much was obvious, but Wynonna did need to talk to her about more serious matters involving the family or more particularly, the curse.

However, when she got to the tire shop she froze by the layers of carnage that lay before her.

"What the hell happened here?" she demanded, walking over to where Dolls and Sheriff Nedley stood.

"Duel murder by the looks of it." the Sheriff said before sharing a look with Dolls who whispered toward Wynonna

"Demon from the looks of it."

Wynonna felt sick, although she did her best to mask it. However, her mind quickly went to the one person in town that she honestly worried about the most.

"Shit...Any sign of Nicole?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mentions of gore and torture.

Nicole was only aware of a few things when she came to and that was the pain in her arms and back from where her body weight was being supported only by her arms and a startling smell of what she could only describe as iron and piss.

"Oh, you're awake. For a second I thought that those idiots had killed you...which would defy the purpose from which I brought you here." a breathy voice said from somewhere in the darkness.

"Who are you and what do you want?" She demanded, struggling to keep the shake out of her voice although she wouldn't give him the pleasure of knowing how scared she really was.

"It's simple, I want freedom and if I can break the heir...perhaps I can lift the veil on this town since if the line ends now, there will be no heir!"

The voice that spoke sounded almost as if the thought drove him to madness but the whole situation seemed like the prattling of a madman to Nicole.

_Heir? Veil?_ What the hell was he talking about?

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

She said, hearing a scoff in response.

"Lair! Surely you noticed the oddness around the Earp name, around the legends!"

The next thing she felt was a pain, white hot as it ripped through her left side, dangerously close to her lung.

She tried not to scream, but the choked whimper still escaped her mouth.

"I need to keep you alive for as long as possible but that doesn't mean that I can't have a little fun."

 

 

 

Wynonna felt bile rise into her throat as she entered the revenant campgrounds, taking note that they were dangerously close to the edge of the triangle.

"They are planning something...Why else would there be so many bodies here?"

Dolls commented, earning a look from Wynonna who opted not to say anything as she and Doc walked on through the carnage.

"Campers. Whoever or whatever this is wanted to draw attention to itself."

"Oh, it's drawing attention to itself alright. The bastard better not have hurt her or I will fucking do more than send him back to hell. Have you ever seen this before Doc?"

"I've seen a lot in my years but _this_ I can not recall that I have."

He answered as they came up to what could only be described as a cabin, or what had once been a cabin for it stood in ruin.

"Fresh blood is on the ground here. Be on guard."

Nicole could barely hear anything over her own muffled screams and racing heart as she struggled just to stay conscious as breathing got harder. However, suddenly there was gunfire, a scream and then what sounded like the rush of fire.

"Shit! Someone call 911!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waverly felt sick as she waited outside the hospital for any information. She couldn't keep the tears at bay, especially since she had seen the state of Wynonna's shirt upon arriving.

"So this is where you disappeared to."

Willa surprised her by sitting down beside her on the bench.

"I just...Why is it that every time I love someone they end up leaving in one way or another?"

The outburst caught Willa off guard a bit but she only smirked.

"So you love this girl? After knowing her for how long?" Willa begins before adding in a less teasing tone "she's strong you know if anyone can survive this... it's her."

Waverly couldn't keep herself from leaning against the older woman, despite how upon the touch Willa stiffened.

"What if she doesn't? What if it's too much..."

As soon as she said those words dry heaves began to wreck her body once again.

Willa sighed, putting a hand on her back as she tried to figure out something to say that would make a difference.

"Let's go see if anyone has any information on her condition. No good is going to come from sitting out here alone, worrying yourself sick."  
  
  


 

Nicole woke up to the sound of beeping, although it took her a few minutes to realize that she was in a hospital room. Glancing around she was surprised to find Wynonna passed out on the couch on one end of the room, Waverly curled up against her, half lying on top of her and clinging to her as afraid the twenty-one-year-old would disappear.

"Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Nicole couldn't help but jolt at the sudden, unexpected voice but relaxed when she saw Willa standing in the doorway.

"Like I've walked directly through hell. What happened?"

She watched as the older woman sighed and walked across the room, putting a bag down onto the small table before answering

"You were kidnapped by this freak of nature known as the jack of knives. Do you remember anything before or after all of that?"

Nicole bit her lip as she thought back, although most of what she remembered was a flash of fire then some kind of white light as strength shot back into her body.

"I remember something cutting into me, and that I was tied up in chains. Before that, I only remember talking to you outside at my truck, and Waverly pushing me into the barn earlier."

Willa sighed as she came over next to the bed, taking a seat before saying in a low voice.

"They had to resuscitate you at the scene...you had lost a lot of blood and was going into shock. Wynonna says one of the first responders just would not give up...not until you came back to them." she said, glancing at the heart rate monitor as it picked up tiny bit.

"I saw Wynonna....standing over fire. I...I didn't go to hell, did I?"

Willa chuckled at that, shaking her head.

"No, you saw Wynonna sending some bastard there. We'll explain _everything_ but only after you're out of here. I don't think Waverly could handle seeing you laying in this bed longer than already necessary."  


Nicole wanted to know what Willa meant but felt too weak to really care at that moment.

"I'll go get the doctors...They'll give you something for the pain."

Willa said before heading toward the door.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	23. Chapter 23

**The air was weighed down with the sickeningly sweet smell of smoke and blood, threatening to choke her as she ran, trying to ignore the sounds of chaos and death that surrounded her.**

 

 

Jolting awake Nicole glanced around, relaxing as she realized that she wasn't in a body covered field but a pure white hospital room. Her whole body hurt and as she tried to sit up every muscle in her back protested.

_Calm down Haught, you're just having those nightmares again._

She mentally told herself before she glanced down at her bandaged wrists and the IV line that ran into her left hand.

_I wonder how long I've been out? The last thing I remember was the Earps sleeping on the sofa over there and Willa...telling me about what happened. Maybe that is what happened back then, something to do with demons....maybe that's what that symbol meant? Maybe it was a demonic cult or something?_

She thought, closing her eyes as she listened to the voices coming from outside the room trying to ground herself before the images from those nightmares (and the past) began to haunt her again.

"Nicole Haught?"

The voice of a nurse jerked her from her thoughts and drew her attention to the door.

"Good, you're awake. I was afraid I would have to wake you. I need to check your injuries and need you to answer a few questions."  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Willa sighed as she leaned up outside the general store, watching Bobo converse with a blond man that she didn't recognize and with her husband's reputation, she wasn't sure that she wanted to. However, she couldn't help but overhear bits of their conversation although none of what they were saying made much sense so she tried to tune it out.

"What the hell is taking Waverly so long?" she complained to Wynonna who was leaned up against the banisters that ran along the front porch area of the store.

 

"It's Waverly. She has probably picked up and put back the same thing at least ten times."  
Wynonna retorted before glancing toward the two men in the parking lot.

 

"I had no idea that revenants actually knew humans."

 

Willa shrugged although something about this whole situation felt odd to her as if the air itself was foreshadowing some sort of change and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

 

"Bobo knows every friggin body in this town and if our slow ass half-sister doesn't hurry up in there..." Willa began, just as Waverly exited the building.

 

Willa could see the hurt that the younger girl was trying to mask and instantly any annoyance she had toward the girl lessened.

 

"Did you find what you were looking for?" She questioned as Wynonna sent her a look that clearly told her that she was dealing with this, that it wasn't her job to do damage control this time.

"Uh yeah, I mean I got more than I went in after but I don't know what she likes and how long she'll be stuck in there..." Waverly answered, trailing off as she shifted under Willa's seemingly unchanging gaze.

 

 

 

"Of course you did little miss perfect."

Willa's response was meant to be teasing Waverly understood that, even if the change in her tone wouldn't be noticed by some.

But it was there and eased a tiny bit of the sting that her previous words had caused.

 

_Willa is easy to annoy, just like Daddy was. Surely she had just been annoyed, not really meaning what she said._

_After all, things had been so nice lately._

 

"Shut up." Waverly managed to say, earning a ghost of a smile at that.  
  


"Are you big enough to make me?"

 

Willa responded, earning a snicker from Wynonna, who chose that moment to head toward the truck, leaving her two sister's to fight amongst themselves.

 

Waverly glared up at Willa before responding "Dynamite comes in small packages, remember that."

And just like that, the tension lessened.

 

 

"I'm not afraid of you, little sister."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	24. Chapter 24

"There you guys are, I thought one of these vampires here decided to lock you away in the blood bank."

Nicole joked as soon as soon as the three Earp girls walked into the room and before she could even understand what was going on, she found herself choking back a yelp of pain as arms wrapped around her.

"Waverly, sweetheart. I love you but can you please loosen your grip? I'm not at one hundred percent yet." she grumbled, pressing a kiss to Waverly's temple

"I'm Sorry. I just...I was so scared, Nicole. You had lost so much blood and..." Waverly choked out, pulling away and wiping at her eyes.

Nicole didn't need her to finish to know what she meant and pulled her back into a tight hug, ignoring her own discomfort.

"Hey, I'm still here okay? I'm a bit sore and I'm pretty sure I've gotten at least two new scars but I'm here and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, Okay?"

She knew how close of a call it had been for her, how that man–no, the demon had almost killed her. How she had seen him sent back to hell by a blast of a gun. The gun that currently hung on Wynonna's hip.

But Waverly didn't need to be reminded of that.   
  
  


 

Wynonna watched as the redhead tried to calm Waverly down before she walked over and put a hand on Nicole's arm, careful not to touch anywhere that had been cut or bruised.

"How you feeling haughtstuff? You had us all scared half to death."

Asked Wynonna, surprising Nicole with how shaky her voice was.

"Like I got hit by a bus but I'm here and that's all that matters, right?"  Nicole retorted, a slight smile coming over her face as she added: "Besides, you're the badass who came in with guns blazing, I should be thanking you."

Wynonna rolled her eyes at that, lightly cuffing her in back of the head.

"You're not going to even let me try to be sentimental are you?"

She quipped, although she totally didn't prepare for the answer she got in return

"Because you don't _have_ to be Wynonna. I mean, you stayed the night and slept in the most uncomfortable position. That means _something._ Besides, we hang out all the time in one way or another. I think I can understand what you _don't_ necessarily say. Even if you do grit on my last nerve sometimes."

Nicole's answer caused the knot that had been forming in her throat to nearly choking her although she managed to choke back the emotions in order to speak.

"Yeah well, you might as wells get used to it Haughtpocket because you're basically family now. Hell, you've been staying at the homestead more than you've stayed home this week!"   
  
  


 

 

Waverly, who had pulled away slightly during their conversation was surprised to find tears suddenly in Nicole's eyes. After all, Nicole had told her the whole story about how she had ended up in Purgatory without so much as choking up. Yet one compliment from Wynonna broke her.

But Waverly understood why because deep down she knew that all three of them: herself, Wynonna and even Nicole had felt the same bitterness before, the same loneliness.

And then her mind turned to Willa, who stood near the door watching them.

_She must feel like an outsider sometimes too._

Waverly thought, offering the woman in question a small smile but like usual it wasn't returned even though Willa's eyes did seem to brighten slightly.

Or maybe it was just Waverly's wishful thinking.  
  
  
  



	25. Chapter 25

"Willa? Not that I mind you helping me with all this but how the hell do you know how to do first aid?"

Nicole asked as she lay on the couch at the homestead, listening to Waverly and Wynonna bickering in the kitchen as a putrid smoke drifted into the room

"I stayed in an underground compound for some time with some other girls. We had to learn how to take care of ourselves and each other." Willa answered as she finished with the bandages before glancing over at the doorway, arching a brow at the increasing volume of her sisters.

  
"And fortunately that included cooking and cleaning up after idiots."

This earned a snort from the redhead who slowly rose to her feet.  
"Tell you what, You distract Wynonna and I'll distract Waverly and we'll order takeout. I don't think I could survive veggie burgers or charcoal today." Nicole said in a whisper, earning a snort from Willa.

  
"Deal. I think you suffered enough with the hospital food this last week."

 

 

* * *

 

 

Later that evening Willa came into the room where Nicole was using, stepping over a hissing Calamity Jane as she made her way over to the bed.

  
"We probably should talk about what happened while the other two are busy with Dolls and Doc." she began, sighing as she took a seat by the redhead.

Nicole could tell that Willa was nervous about this whole conversation and having a cat constantly trying to attack her probably didn't help but she had volunteered to explain everything so Nicole chose not to mention it.

"If you want. I'm sure I can get Wynonna drunk enough to tell me." Nicole answered, earning a chuckle.

  
"Maybe but I think I know a bit more about the universe than she does. After all, I gave up being human a long time before I married a revenant." Willa responded, closing her eyes briefly as if trying to steel her nerves before she continued.

"The truth is Nicole, things in Purgatory and in the world isn't what it seems. Things exist that most people only imagine in nightmares and fairy tales. That bastard that hospitalized you, he was an actual demon or rather...an revenant like Bobo. That is why you saw the fire after Wynonna shot him, Peacemaker is a weapon made to kill demons."

Nicole knew that if she hadn't seen the fire herself she would think either Willa was making fun of her or was crazy. But now as she sat listening to this, she couldn't help but wonder about something that had bothered her for a long time.

"There was a massacre that happened near here ten years ago. The official report was a forest fire but...I was there, I remember what happened. Was that something to do with demons?" she asked, the mere mention of that night making her mind replay those images.

"You're talking about the music festival. Holy shit, You were the kid Randy Nedly found by the river." Willa responded, eyes growing slightly wide at that bit of information before she glanced down at the ca before answering:

  
"In a way, it was, although both revenants and humans are behind the cult of Bulshar. My father had me go with him when he got called out to it. I was twelve when it happened and I had nightmares for a month."

 

 

 

 

Wynonna sighed as she walked into the house, leaving Waverly to unload the truck with groceries. She wasn't sure what to expect out of Nicole after she heard the truth. Would she be too freaked out and leave Purgatory and break Waverly's heart? Would she stay even if she knew that at some point she would have to stand and fight?

  
Wynonna wasn't sure if she could handle seeing Waverly so heart broke again.

"So did you tell Haught?" she asked Willa, who was making tea in the kitchen.

  
"That girl isn't normal, she sees something strange and unlike most humans, she literally has such a nonchalant reaction. Although Calamity Jane probably won't come out of that room for a year." Willa commented, just as Waverly came into the house, struggling with bags of supplies.

 

"Can one of you useless nincompoops come help me? I am not the only person who lives in this house!"

 


	26. Chapter 26

"Okay so fur coat over there is a demon, John Henry is literally an undead relic, this whole fucking town basically conceals something and the townspeople pretend like all this shit doesn't happen?"

Nicole asked the next day once Waverly went to school.

 

"Pretty much." Wynonna responded with a shrug as she slid a pack of doughnuts across the table to the redhead before adding "Willa told me about your aunt and uncle. I'm sorry you had to deal with this curse shit."

 

Nicole sighed as she reached across the table and grabbed one of the bottles of beer, glancing at the clock.

"If Waverly asks, I haven't drunk a drop of anything stronger than grape soda." she said earning a smirk from Wynonna.

 

"I think I like this side of you Haught. But sure, besides one beer ain't going to kill you." Wynonna retorted before glancing over at Bobo, who was reclined on the couch, eating something from a takeout box.

"I don't know if you can convince weasel boy over there to keep his cock sucker shut, though." she said, only to be flipped off by the man.

 

 

"Wynonna, stop torturing Robert." Willa called from the stairway "I swear both of you act like overgrown children!"  
  


"No one asked you!"  
  


 

 

Nicole snickered as she watched them interact, kinda making her wish that she had siblings and that maybe things would have been somewhat different–at least at school.  
She was so lost in thought that when Wynonna clapped her on the shoulder she jumped, yelping at the sudden pull of the stitches in her side.

"Shit, sorry Nicole. You were ten miles away there." Wynonna stated, arching a brow at the younger redhead who sighed.

 

"It's fine, I just moved the wrong way. I guess I was just thinking about shit that doesn't matter." Nicole responded, watching as her face contorted and scrunched up into something akin to concern.

 

"I would ask _but_ I know you like to keep some things to yourself so as a friend I respect that." she said simply, earning a slight smirk from Nicole.

 

"Oh, so we're friends now? When did that happen?" 

 

 

The tense atmosphere that had settled over them broke at that even if Nicole _knew_ that she and Wynonna had some form of friendship going for them.

"Okay, just for that give my beer back you asshole." Wynonna said, making a halfhearted attempt to take the bottle back although she was smiling slightly.

 

"Why yes I am an asshole. I'm trying to be more like you." Nicole quipped, earning a snort from Bobo.

 

"I am telling Waverly to keep _this one._ She's funny." he commented after managing to clear his airway of particles of food.

 

"And she just burned me a new ass." Wynonna said, lightly patting Nicole on the back as sh added "good one by the way. Didn't know you had that in you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay with updates, writer's block is a bitch.  
> So if anyone has any ideas or suggestions or anything....please feel free to express them!


End file.
